Not as bad as two years ago, but not as good as last year’s ads. Overall, very disappointing, I think. There hasn’t been one ad yet where I was like, that was great, that was a deserving Superbowl ad. But anyway, here’s Three Up & Three Down from the first half:

THREE UP

Bud Light – Conan’s Swedish Ad
Look, when even Bud’s ads aren’t really living up to standards, you know you got a dud group of ads. But Bud’s are still better than just about anyone else’s. Just the visual of Conan in bunny ears & a red jumpsuit was good enough for me. The Budget Meeting spot was also pretty funny, even if it was completely predictable.

Bridgestone – Potatoheads
Very cute & clever, they had me at the part where Mrs. Potatohead’s lips went flying down the mountain.

Teleflora – Talking Flowers
It works because it’s actually kind of mean & that’s surprising. “Nobody wants to see you naked.” Heh.

THREE DOWN

Go Daddy – Danica Patrick in the Shower
Okay, are there two things more irrelevant in popular culture right now than Danica Patrick & Go Daddy Superbowl commercials? Let it go, Go Daddy.

Doritos – Power of the Crunch & Crystal Ball
Doritos fell flat so far, a shame because I liked what they do with UCC.

Sobe – Dancing
A potentially good concept—how do you go wrong with dancing professional athletes?—gone horribly, incomprehensively wrong.